I want to apologize for taking so long updating this story and for not starting the one story where Sai joins Shield! I promise to update more, but I'm afraid I might not be able to do the Sai and Shield story. If your interested in doing that story for me then feel free to do so but let me know.
Chapter 8: Osamu's Destiny
Osamu just laid there in the field with his eyes staring at the clouds. He looked calm and peaceful on the outside, but on the inside he was anything but that.
'When did things start to go wrong?,' he thought as he saw a cloud shaped like a boat go by. 'Was it when Uncle Iron lost his fighting spirit after Lun Ten's death? Or was it when Father's ambitious nature began to grow even more out of control?' Osamu closed his eyes and started to breathe in the fragrance of the flowers and fresh scent of the grass. 'Could I have done more to prevent this?' He continued to stare up at the sky, except now there was desperation shinning in his eyes. Almost as if he was asking the very clouds he admired so much for an answer. They remained silent as Osamu began remembering the events that lead to him seeking solitude in the palace garden.
Flashback
There seemed to be an impenetrable wall separating mother and daughter and it refused to crumble. It did not help that Zuko, without meaning to, kept getting in the way of a much needed bonding experience between Ursa and Azula. Zuko seemed to grow even more clingier to their mother over the last two years, which frustrated Azula to no end.
Osamu along with his mother and younger sister all sat around the dinning room in comfortable silence. Ozai had long left and Zuko was taking sword lessons from a true master. Osamu pretended to read a scroll as he waited for Azula to make her move. Earlier that morning he had managed to convince Azula to take the first step in repairing her relationship with their mother. He watched as Azula meekly walked up to her mother and tug on her silky robe with trembling fingers to get her attention.
"M-mother," spoke Azula with a shy, shaky voice that was greatly different from her usual confident. Osamu could not resist a small chuckle at how much Azula resembled Hinata at that moment. "Can j-just the two of u-us walk through the garden together? Please?"
Time seemed to stand still as Ursa took a moment to observe her daughter. As if she was seeing something that was not there before and it surprised her. Azula just stood there waiting with resignation on her face, the sparkle of hope long gone from her eyes after the long stretch of silence, already believing her mother was going to refuse her request.
"Alright. Just the two of us," her mother said softly, a tender smile on her lips with eyes filled with warmth. They soon disappeared from Osamu's view just as Zuko seemed to pop out of thin air.
'I need to get a bell for this kid or something,' thought an annoyed, but also impressed Osamu.
"Do you know where I can find mother? One of the servants said she was here, but I don't see her anywhere..."
"She is occupied at the moment, but never mind that. How did your sword lessons go?," Osamu asked in hopes of Keeping his twin distracted.
"Master Piandao is amazing, Osamu! He says I am making a lot of progress in the art of fighting with duel broadswords! It comes more naturally to me than fire bending does!" Zuko gushed out all at once. Osamu made it his top priority to ignore all the blah that started to pour from his twin's mouth.
End of flashback
Everything had all began to go downhill after that day. It started when their father began to go out of his way to be cruel to Zuko and the most memorable moment of his cruelness was the time when the whole family was eating at the palace dining hall. "Osamu and Azula were born lucky. You were lucky to be born at all! Lucky for you, your mother and the Fire Sages pleaded for your life. Osamu and you may share the same face, but he never needed that kind of luck. Not even your sister!" Those words were poison to Zuko's already fragile heart. Zuko's confidence began hitting an all time low and things just got worse. Zuko began refusing Osamu's help and isolating himself. Their mother disappearing and their father becoming Fire Lord did not help matters.
Osamu also missed their mother. Why did she leave? Was she OK? Was she still alive? Not knowing was agonizing and painful. He had a few theories about why she disappeared but had no proof to support any of them. He needed to discover the truth because he knew it was also tied to why his father hated Zuko, his own son, so much. The question was where to start?
